Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis attacked Saudi Arabia-linked trucks that contained military equipment with ballistic missiles at a border crossing near Al-Wadiah, on the Saudi-Yemen border on Monday, Houthi Media reported.
The report stated that the Houthis surveilled Saudi camps and troops at Al-Wadiah camp and found a large number of vehicles with ammunition and weapons.
The missiles were “locally manufactured”, according to the Yemen News Agency. The overnight attacks caused “temporary” shutdowns at oil sites and left 73 injured, Saudi authorities said, a reminder of the danger posed by the group across the southern Saudi border. The Gulf Kingdom’s Energy Ministry said multiple energy facilities and installations located within its southern province came under Houthi fire.
The accusation came as fighting intensified in Yemen, where the Saudi-backed, internationally recognised government has launched a counteroffensive to retake territory from the Iran-backed Houthis rebels. Houthis accused Riyadh of carrying out strikes, including the deadly bombardment of a prison in which 11 people were killed.
Saudi Arabia will “take all necessary measures to defend its sovereignty”, a foreign ministry statement said, demanding a halt to the Houthi strikes and their attacks on Red Sea shipping.
